CVE-2022-39189

Guest-kernel compromise via stale TLB translations

Published Sep 2, 2022 · Updated May 5, 2025

A race condition in the Linux kernel's x86 KVM subsystem before 5.18.17 allows guest OS users to compromise the guest kernel. kvm_steal_time_set_preempted can mark a vCPU preempted away from an instruction boundary, letting a concurrent paravirtual TLB flush leave instruction emulation using a stale page translation. Unprivileged access inside a KVM guest is sufficient; consequences include a guest crash or arbitrary code execution in the guest kernel.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.34%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

A race condition in the Linux kernel's x86 KVM subsystem before 5.18.17 allows guest OS users to compromise the guest kernel. kvm_steal_time_set_preempted can mark a vCPU preempted away from an instruction boundary, letting a concurrent paravirtual TLB flush leave instruction emulation using a stale page translation. Unprivileged access inside a KVM guest is sufficient; consequences include a guest crash or arbitrary code execution in the guest kernel.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-39189
Published
Sep 2, 2022
Updated
May 5, 2025
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 2, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 5, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.8CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.0Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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